Belgium
-
-
Italy and Belgium were the latest eurozone sovereigns to build their largest ever order books for syndicated bonds on Wednesday, with the former coming close to breaking the record demand from a eurozone issuer set by Spain on Tuesday. -
Spain and Cyprus attracted strong demand for their syndicated bonds on Tuesday, with the former receiving the largest ever order book for a public sector euro benchmark. Italy and Belgium will add to the eurozone sovereign supply on Wednesday after mandating leads for new 30 and 10 year trades, respectively.
-
Ageas sold a restricted tier one (RT1) bond this week in an effort to replace some of its grandfathered securities. The insurer secured tight pricing, bolstered by about €5bn of orders.
-
A flurry of new deals this week had issuers having to compete for investors’ attention. Bankers said that higher yielding deals were much easier to sell, with non-preferred senior bonds from Bankia and Lloyds Banking Group proving more popular than a tighter print from Belfius.
-
Argenta Spaarbank’s trade this week was a warning to smaller banks about the importance of good pricing and roadshows in selling bonds. But even for those issuers willing to heed those lessons, it may already be too late to issue debt, writes David Freitas.
-
The postponement of Argenta Spaarbank’s non-preferred senior bond on Tuesday was a reminder that investors are not taking a shine to everything sent their way in the market. The large volume of trades this year has prompted investors to become “selective” about what they buy, analysts at Rabobank said.
-
Argenta Spaarbank and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group were both marketing senior bonds on Tuesday, making use of the favourable backdrop in the primary market. While Sumitomo was quick to build demand for its bond, Argenta struggled to gather enough demand volume to move the spread from price thoughts.
-
Three public sector borrowers announced dollar benchmarks on Monday, rekindling the market after a quiet week.
-
Belgium and Ireland are looking at increasing the size of their green bonds in the fourth quarter. For Ireland it would be the first tap of its green bond since it was issued in October 2018.
-
Belfius Bank issued the first Belgian covered bond of 2019 on Monday. Although the order book built slowly, the tightly priced 10 year attracted solid demand.
-
Euroclear Bank, a Brussels-based international securities depository, will work with China Central Depository and Clearing (CCDC) to develop a bond trading link for international investors to access Chinese domestic bonds.
